This tall jar by Samuel Manymules is an unusual shape for his pottery.  It is coil built and slipped with a red clay and then traditionally fired.  The jar has a square mouth and four ribs which swirl from the neck to the base.  They are pushed out from the inside to create the sharp “edge” but the area separating them is flat.  This turns out to be a striking form as the flat sections have fired to deep colorations from black to deep red.  The entire jar is fully polished and traditionally fired to create the coloration.  It is how Samuel places the jar in the firing and the smoke which determine how the colors will range from black to red.  The color changes as the jar is turned but in the photos you get a good sense of the color variations.  After the firing the jar is the covered with pine pitch in the traditional way expected of Navajo pottery.  It is extraordinary vessels like this which keep Samuel among the top Navajo potters working today.